You see, growing up as a Reagan conservative in center-right America, I’ve always thought fellow conservatives not only preferred lower taxes and a strong defense, but were also pro-life and pro-Judeo-Christian morals as well – which includes opposing same-sex marriage.

(For the record, Coulter is opposed to same-sex marriage. WND’s difference with her was that she was conferring major credibility on a “gay” activist group that’s pushing same-sex marriage and open homosexuals in the military.)

Anyway, reading the media coverage, I discovered that instead of championing Judeo-Christian values as conservatives did during the Reagan years, today’s conservative pundits – at least those quoted in the press – were waxing enthusiastic about “gay” activism and same-sex marriage.

Other conservatives even went so far as to argue that supporting gay rights is inherently conservative.

“Conservatism and gay rights are actually natural allies,” said S.E. Cupp, conservative columnist and author of “Losing Our Religion: The Liberal Media’s Attack on Christianity.” “Conservatism rightly seeks to keep the government out of our private lives, and when you strip away the politics of pop culture, it’s this assertion of privacy and freedom that the gay rights movement is essentially making.”

“This is how institutions evolve and emerge within a conservative culture,” says Jon Henke, a libertarian-leaning blogger. “In time, gay people will be married, extending the valuable social institution of marriage to more people. In time, conservatives will argue that the positive impact that marriage has on the gay community is further evidence of the importance of the institution of marriage.”

“Coulter’s decision to speak at HomoCon,” Lewis summarized, “is merely the latest example of prominent conservatives (of all ages) lending, at least, tacit support to the cause of gay rights.”

In fact, he wrote, “Conservative anti-tax activist Grover Norquist serves on the board of directors for GOProud, and RightWingNews, the blog site run by conservative blogger John Hawkins, has agreed to co-sponsor HomoCon.”

Lewis also cites former Bush solicitor general Ted Olson’s mission to overturn Proposition 8 and Fox News superstar Glenn Beck who recently said he has no problem with gay marriage. And he notes that Fox pundit and Daily Caller founder Tucker Carlson is slated to speak at an upcoming event hosted by the Log Cabin Republicans, another homosexual group.

Wow, I thought. I must really be out of it.

But then I remembered one voice the press hadn’t showcased in its coverage.

The American people. You see, they see it the same way I do. Overwhelmingly, Americans reject same-sex marriage.

True, it has been forced down their throats by rogue judges – in Massachusetts in 2003, in New Jersey in 2006, in California and Connecticut in 2008, and in Iowa in 2009. Finally in 2009, Vermont gave in when its legislature, without being forced by a judge, legalized same-sex marriage. Maine and New Hampshire then followed suit.

But as the Heritage Foundation affirms: the only reason same-sex marriage exists in the U.S. at all (currently homosexual couples can get marriage licenses in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire and Washington, D.C.) is because of activist courts:

Not a single state … has seen its populace vote directly to install same-sex marriage. Popular majorities in states as diverse as Maine, California, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Mississippi have voted to protect marriage. Overall almost 64 percent of the nearly 60 million popular votes cast to date have favored preserving marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

Here’s a dose of American reality, far away from the rarefied air of media punditry, whether liberal or conservative:

And 30 states have language in their own state constitutions defining marriage as between a man and a woman: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Repeatedly, year after year, Americans say “no” to same-sex marriage. Either they are idiots and bigots – or they are wiser than the media pundits and prognosticators.

Look, I like S.E. Cupp. I like Erick Erikson. I like Tucker Carlson – he did a great interview with me back when he was on MSNBC, before that cable network went insane. And I love Glenn Beck. (I don’t like John Henke, because last year he bizarrely called for a boycott of WND! I don’t think it worked – we’re bigger than ever.)

But the point is, even though the news coverage makes it appear that these “conservative” pundits have figured out this issue while WND is off-base, when I look at real American citizens and voters – who repeatedly reject same-sex marriage, year after year – I wonder just who in the media is really out of touch with reality.